The present invention relates to a self-propelled harvester for sugar cane.
Self-propelled harvesters for sugar cane are known in the art. A known self-propelled harvester has a front aspirating or picking means for feeding sugar cane into the machine, comminuting meanns for comminuting the sugar cane, an inclined conveyor, an ascending discharge conveyor extending normal to the inclined conveyor and arranged so that a stream of the comminuted sugar can fall from the inclined conveyor onto the discharge conveyor, and a pressure fan located in the region of transition between the conveyors so that its air stream is directed through the stream of comminuted sugar cane toward a discharge hood. The pressure fan in the housing of the machine cannot in many cases remove all leaf particles from the product stream. Because of this, a suction conveyor forming so-called secondary cleaning is provided at the upstream end of the discharge conveyor to aspirate residual leaf particles and other impurities from the product stream before throwing the comminuted sugar cane to a following vehicle. The thus aspirated particles are freely blown outwardly into the air. The disadvantage of this construction is that the leaf particles and other blown impurities "rain down" on the standing sugar cane and the harvester itself. A further disadvantage of this construction is the fact that it is necessary to provide the relatively heavy suction fan because of its arrangement at the outer end of the discharge conveyor which laterally extends outwardly of the harvester and undesirably affects the location of the center of gravity.